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Archive for September, 2011

Data Centers are controlled facilities built with the express purpose of housing complex IT systems. They are usually built with highly advanced climate control equipment to moderate both temperature and humidity. Also, measures are installed to suppress fire should a fire break out. Another key aspect of a proper data center is the use of redundant power supplies which would allow the center to operate even if the power grid fails or blacks out. Like the redundant power supplies, redundant data communication connections are also installed. The last key component of any data center is security measures which control access to the data room as both a protection of the physical components, and the digital information which they provide. These centers allow the companies who use them to receive sure-proof technology support without necessarily having to go to the effort of running the center themselves.

Because data centers are essentially a large collection of servers and other computer equipment, they are sometimes referred to as ‘server farms.’ The moniker is appropriate: generally quite large and like a farm populated with animals require care and attention to ensure that everything runs smoothly. The largeness of data centers actually runs back to the original computers.

Before the advent of personal computers in the 1980′s, individual computers were massive machines which took up entire rooms. They required climate control to prevent overheating and security to protect the machines. Does this sound familiar? Many of the current practices have their roots in those established with the gargantuan computers of yesteryear. However, the boom of data centers didn’t happen until the 1990′s, after both the personal computer and internet had taken off.

The 1990′s saw the rise of the internet. In order for companies to take advantage of the internet they needed servers. Once companies needed the servers to run their businesses, and once networking infrastructure was developed that allowed servers to be placed in their own room, the data center was born.

Due to the great expense involved in creating a data center, small companies couldn’t practically build their own. At first large companies built their own Internet Data Centers to provide 24/7 access to the internet and support to ensure their systems were constantly available. Over time data centers migrated to the private sector.

Currently operated by private companies which offer managed hosting to their clients. With the introduction of scalability within the data center even small businesses can take advantage of well-managed data centers without having to build their own. Also, managed hosting allows clients to not spend man power on the upkeep of the data centers. While current data centers are designed and operated according to industry standards, those standards are under constant development affecting how private companies operate and develop their centers.

Immedion (http://www.immedion.com/) is South Carolina’s first enterprise-class dedicated data center services provider. Billings Farnsworth is a freelance writer.

Proper documentation and organization: The recovery plans usually portray a sense of proper organization and proper documentation of data. Excellent documentation usually spells out what is to happen in case something that may lead to data loss occurs. The documentation also gives more information on how the backup system is to be implemented and integrated in case of data loss. Having a good recovery plan in place computer backup systems will be capable of organizing and sorting data easily and allowing easy access to files that may have been mistakenly deleted.

Provision of security: In order for customers and employees to have an assurance in the organization, a recovery plan is effective for this purpose. Since the company has put out strategies and plans for future in case of certain data disasters, the employees and the customers are rest assured that their information is safe. One of the things that are included in the plan is backup systems. This displays a level of professionalism that gives customers the idea that the organization in question is actually serious in their work and that the interests of the customers is taken with great importance. This belief can actually increase the customer base of an organization enabling it to grow.

Security may also come in the form of protecting against software that may destroy files within the organization i.e. viruses. In this way, installation of anti-virus software will be put in the recovery plan in addition to ways of protecting the local network from intrusion from outsiders.

Major savings: If a major disaster was to occur and no backup system was put in place, that would mean an organization might actually close down. Thus, investing in a data recovery disaster plan will save on the amount of money of having to recreate all the information again by just retrieving information from the backup system.

Find out more about laptop disaster recovery plans.

Every big organization that runs on the computer has its own data centres. This term simply implies the room where the servers are stored. Since a data is the integral component and key asset of any business, its storage, security and recovery is also important to an organisation. Numerous business models have achieved their centralized information centres. And hence, a information centre management looks out for the ongoing process of the data management within the company to ensure the upkeep of the organisation.

Data centre solutions

It provides 24-hour monitoring of the data transmission and ample security. Since a data recovery process is not always foolproof, it has to be kept in mind that it should be carefully guarded. Many top-notch companies provide their most efficient and complete record centre solutions that safeguard the management of your data exchange. Such IT companies make sure that energy is conserved irrespective of the way that helps them to function in storing the data.

Likewise, many private data centres have also surfaced to fulfill the need of storing internet record centre solution. Nowadays, they are allowing numerous small businesses to avail the benefits of such large internet data centres. It enables even a small entrepreneur to avail such services without spending much funds and giving much physical space.

Operating and forming such centres has become the topmost business concern to many good companies. New structures for documentation and requirements of the system have given great consistency to the centre that can store the data in a more efficient manner today. The process of disaster recovery plans has increased the reliability of centre system at present.

Benefits

Numerous components that are ensured in the process of data storage make it most safe and competitive. Most important component is the personal review regarding the organisational functioning. Various processes like network management, security management, debugging, server overview, operational maintenance of software and hardware and recovery in the case of loss are equivalently done by this system. Apart from such benefits, the team has to perform many responsible and significant tasks to which the entire empire of an organisation hinges.

With the passage of time, we have realized the importance of data centre system as we had seen many big companies turn into ash just because their company’s data was completely wiped out.

The way to prove the reality of the sentiment is to try and imagine how a company would operate if an information technology system was completely wiped out. In many instances, with the IT system destroyed, the whole company goes down with it. Again, this is why there is such an important need for a dedicated information centre within the framework of the IT system.

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After installing thousands of dollars in servers and IT equipment, you need to protect your investment with a fire suppression system. When shopping for these systems, you will be confronted with a variety of options.

However, before getting into the common types of suppression systems, a quick review of fire types is helpful. Fires are classified into five classes by the National Fire Protection Association based upon the fuel type for the fire:

Class A fires are fueled with combustible materials such as wood or paper

Class B fires are fueled with flammable liquids and flammable gases

Class C fires involve electrical equipment

Class D fires use ignitable metals as a fuel source

Class K fire uses cooking oil or fat as a fuel source

In a typical server room, classes D and K are not a likelihood. As such, any system you choose should be rated for classes A, B, and C. Failure to have system rated for all three fire classes will leave you vulnerable to a much more catastrophic data loss than you would otherwise endure.

The first systems you might encounter utilize a gas suppressant. These systems basically deny the fire an oxygen supply which causes it to expire. A very common gas suppressant is Halon although it has been banned as it is very harmful to the ozone layer. Any Halon system still operational was installed before the ban.

A popular Halon alternative is HFC-227, also known as FM-200. This halocarbon, when discharged, is not harmful to the ozone layer but is considered a powerful green house gas.

However, its true benefit for you is that it leaves no residue and can be “cleaned up” merely by ventilating the data center. This means there is no server down. These attributes make it a strong contender for your final choice in a suppression system.

A second choice are aerosol systems. These systems are easy to clean up like FM-200 systems and have zero impact on the environment. Additionally, cost effective and space saving as they have a much lighter footprint. Unlike a gas system, they do not require an extensive piping network for suppressant delivery.

Water based systems are the third type of system you might encounter. These systems are not generally recommended as they do not address class C fires. Water systems also destroy equipment which is clearly something to be avoided. They may be used in certain circumstances but you should consult closely with fire suppression experts before installing such a system.

With due diligence you will be able to find a system that works for your needs and protects your equipment in the best fashion possible. Hopefully, this information has provided a suitable jumping off point.

Many websites provide additional information on the topic of fire suppression. One such site worth visiting is http://www.brothersfire.com.

Eric Parish independently author’s articles for WebDrafter.com, Inc. (http://www.webdrafter.com) for search engine marketing. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those solely of the author, and not of any other person, company, or organization. No guarantee or warranty, express or implied, is made regarding the accuracy, fitness, or use of the content herein.

At about 19:00 on 9th February 1986 the Irish Republican Army detonated a half-ton bomb contained in a small lorry in the Canary Wharf (Docklands) area of London.

Due to a telephoned warning, nearby buildings and the road were evacuated. However, two men working in the newsagents shop directly opposite the explosion had not been evacuated in time and were killed. 39 people required hospital treatment due to blast injuries and falling glass.

Approximately £85 million worth of damage was done by the blast. This bomb represented the end to the IRA cease-fire during the Northern Ireland peace process at the time.

Why am I posting this story? Well I was working in IT for a major Japanese Bank Investment Bank at the time and its data center was completely destroyed by the explosion.

The bank had a disaster recovery system situated about 25 miles away but it was in no state of readiness to accommodate this situation.

The bank had to stop trading, apart from emergency transactions, while the disaster recovery computer
system was restored with the latest available data.

It took the back office staff six weeks, many of whom (directors included) slept on the office floor, to unravel all the confusion caused by failed transactions, missed interest payments and reconciliation problems.

Needless to say, this cost the bank many millions of pounds.

Don’t let yourselves get in the same situation as you never know when you can lose your data.

Contact the experts in data backup and restore, disaster recovery and remote outsourcing before it is too late.

With over 25 years experience in implementing and supporting mission critical systems Michael has all the scars to prove it.

He is now using proven methods to increase service quality and reduce costs in Houston.

http://www.optimized-computer-services.com

With the passage of time, there has been a lot of advancement in the field of technology. With this advancement in technology, the term data warehouse has become very common within organizations. Since the data center warehouse is responsible for preserving crucial information, like for instance, the user Ids as well as the passwords of many systems and databases, its security should be the top-most priority for any organization. In this regard, quickly check out some of the techniques that you need to adopt for its security.

Firstly, it should be built at the right place. Avoid constructing it near chemical factories, power plants as well as in the vicinity of those areas which are severely affected by floods, earthquakes and hurricanes.

The walls of your data center should be thick concrete walls. For better security, you can also choose walls lined with Kevlar.

Avoid constructing any windows in your warehouse. In case you need to construct windows in your warehouse, make use of glass which is bomb-resistant.

Also, make sure that the ceilings as well as the walls do not have any hidden access point.

You can also make use of boulders as well as plant trees in order to hide it from the cars and other vehicles that pass by it.

Strong security arrangements should be made for detecting any bombs. For example, you can keep security guards armed with portable bomb sniffing devices or mirrors to check for any type of explosives underneath the vehicles.

Finally, place surveillance cameras around your data warehouse building and also at each and every entrance as well as exit.

On the other hand, when we talk about data warehouse appliance, we are actually talking about a set of operating systems, servers, DBMS, storage, and software for the purpose of data warehousing. There are several points that we should remember about this warehouse appliance. Some of them include:

In this type of appliance, the hardware as well as the software should be designed in such a manner that they can optimize each other. In this way, you can derive maximum performance.

This type of appliance can be upgraded very easily. The systems should be upgradeable at the software, component and disk levels. Replacing of systems should be minimized as far as possible.

This type of appliance should be such that it should try to minimize all possible bottlenecks of the system. In theory, any system may have CPU, I/O, memory, or interconnect bottlenecks. But in most of the cases, the I/O bottleneck is the most common.

This type of appliance offers high availability. There should not be any single point of failure. Failover, mirrored disks as well as dual interconnects should be implemented.

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